Elder Porter Richards life as an LDS missionary.
He will be serving for 2 years in the
Quezon City North Mission in the Philippines speaking Tagalog.

Porter flag

Monday, October 17, 2016

Typhoon Karen

Hello everyone from the rainy Philippines, How was everybody's week this week? Hope everyone had a good one and is enjoying life.

Well this week was interesting to say the least bit! It was a slower week when it comes to the work, but a little extravagant when it comes to just being in the Philippines. We had Typhoon Karen hit us this week yesterday. The storm wasn't to bad itself but where I am assigned it floods even when there is just a drizzle out. When it rains here it rains like cats and dogs for hours. The floods got pretty bad. We weren't able to go to some of the areas because the flood was literally high enough that you couldn't get in the door. Directly where I live though it wasn't terrible. It got to about almost shin to knee high. The worst part about it is you just have to take your shoes and socks off before you walk i n it. And the water you are walking in is just.. . gross... Elder Miller and I did survive and I enjoyed the new adventure. I know another storm is coming and we are preparing for it.

This week was the first time I really felt disappointed while being in the field. Every night we got home there was just a feeling of dissatisfaction. Its hard to put into words the exact feeling but it was something I did not like. I decided to pray and ask why is this happening? Why do I feel so bad? As I knelt down, I couldn't even get words out of my mouth because a feeling came over me like I already knew why this feeling was there. I had become complacent with myself this week. I had not strived to become better than I was yesterday. So this was a prayer with very few words that needed to be spoken. I learned a lot though. Trials help us learn to grow, and we need to strive to become better day by day. When complacency sets in, you are going down a hard path.

One great thing about this week was I did receive 2 packages. One from my Grandma and Grandpa and one from my family. Thank you so much for the treats. It made my day when I got back to the house and was able to see all the treats that they had sent me . You guys are too sweet to me. The best part wasn't even the treats though, it was just the feeling of love and feeling of home. Love y'all for that.

Here's a couple of answers that some have asked me: I wash my clothes by hand. It can be a pain sometimes because of the amount and the time and effort that go into it, but it sure does humble me in a way that I have not had before.

I haven't eaten anything too crazy recently, but I am learning to cook most Filipino food. To be honest most food is cooked the same, just a few different ingredients.